A New Alliance
by L.J. Pynn
Summary: This probably will not be updated for a while, if at all. I've been focusing on another piece on Ao3 and moved any work I had here to there. /users/LJ Pynn/works
1. Chapter 1

Ben looked down at his defeated master as a feeling of freedom gathered in him. He then looked up to Rey while she waited for an answer. He brought his attention to the nearly doomed Resistance fleet ahead of The Supremacy. As he looked on them, he felt the same presence as before during the initial attack on the Resistance capital ship. With the relief that his Mother was still alive, he looked back to Rey again and quickly pulled out his communicator. "General Hux! The Supreme Leader is injured. Get the ship out of the system immediately."

"What!?" Hux hollered from across the massive destroyer. "We have only a few of their transports left until we finally snuff out these apparent fools!"

"Now, General!" Ben replied, "Cease fire and get us out of here."

"As you wish… _commander_."

As the guns of the ship fell silent, Rey looked out to the remainder of the fleet as they finally made their escape to the planet below. Ben joined her at the viewing screen, nearly unable to process the decisions he had just made.

"Thank you." Rey said as she turned to face Ben. "You've saved them."

"No. Thank you." Ben began as he looked down to her, "You saved me. If it weren't for you, I'd still be Snoke's slave. You freed me from his grasp. From the darkness. "

Rey looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity of his gratitude. The room glowed bright as the ship began into hyperspace, illuminating them both. Quickly, though, she became distracted.

"What now? What do we do?" Rey asked.

Ben stepped closer to her.

"Ben, it won't take long for the First Order to be after us." She said, as he quickly gained a serious composure. "As soon as they see what happened here, they'll send the entire ship to kill us. Can we get to a shuttle from here?"

"The nearest hangar is a long way from here." Ben quickly replied. "But my chambers aren't far. They're heavily fortified. We can at least stay in there for enough time to come up with a plan. We need to dispose of _that,_ though." Ben pointed to the fallen leader. The two quickly gathered the butchered remains of Snoke and his guards onto a few pods, then jettisoned them out into space, lost to the First Order forever.

The two began back to the lift. Ben quickly reached out with the Force, pulling the handcuffs from the throne room floor behind him, just as the doors closed around he and his new partner.

"Put these on." Ben held the restraints out to her, as she looked at him in confusion.

"In case we run into any trouble on the way, we'll say you're my captive."

Rey sighed in relief and grabbed them from his hands, beginning to equip them.

"Wait." Ben said, reaching to his waist, "You might want this back." he said as he held out her lightsaber to return to her. She smiled to him as she grabbed it and quickly attached it on the belt hidden under her dark robes. She then loosely put the restraints around her wrists. The lift doors opened behind the two new allies. They exited, quietly and quickly proceeding down the seemingly endless hallways of the enormous ship.

"I thought you said we weren't too far from your chambers." Rey said, questioning Ben's earlier statement.

"Believe me, we took the shortcut." He said back to her. "I don't usually come this way."

The two turned a corner and were quickly being stopped by a security officer at a checkpoint ahead of the restricted area that housed Ben's personal chambers.

"Commander!" The officer exclaimed as she quickly jumped to stand in attention. "Where are you taking this intruder?" she asked.

"I… I… Uhh…" Ben stumbled in his words as he tried to come up with an answer, surprised by the Officer's presence.

"To his quarters." Rey quickly indicated to the young woman of authority. Ben's eyes shot down to the young Jedi, shocked at her quick answer.

"Apparently your impenetrable flying fortress has been infiltrated by some friends of mine and your so-called ' _Supreme_ ' leader ordered this wretched snake to keep me under his personal guard."

"Sir?", the officer looked to Ben.

"Yes, Snoke said to keep her under my eye. Get everyone _else_ on this level down to take out the Resistance filth that's boarded the ship." Ben ordered.

The officer stood for a moment, looking at her commander in question. He gave her back an intimidating look before she quickly left to thwart the apparent incursion. Ben looked down at Rey, admiring her quick wit. She smiled back to him, pleased with herself. They finally rushed to his chambers at the end of the hallway. They entered the large living space, while Ben locked the door behind him.

"Lights!" Ben said with a raised slightly voice, activating the dim lighting of the room.

"Take a seat. Catch your breath." He said, pointing to the black sofa at the opposite end of the room.

Rey walked slowly around the room, her boots tapping on the solid, shining black floor. She looked around at the dark walls, and then to the exhausted Ben Solo. She finally took a relaxing seat and removed her restraints. Ben stood there, finally catching his own breath after the excitement they'd just shared together. He rubbed the sweat from his forehead before removing his hot constrictive overcoat, lazily tossing it to the floor. He looked up and saw Rey looking on him. He walked over and slouched in seat next to her to settle his tense, overworked muscles from the battle just before.

"I can't believe we did it." He said. "He's actually dead."

She placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It was by your hand, Ben. His overconfidence was his weakness and you stood up to end his tyranny."

Ben looked to her again, an intimate and proud smile on her face. He felt a sense of pride in himself, not just for killing Snoke, but for having someone at his side who could truly see the light in him again after so many years. He then looked down to Rey's shoulder, quickly changing his feeling of pride to concern.

"You're injured!" He said, pointing to her wound from the fight against Snoke's guards. "Droid!" he shouted, quickly standing up and racing to the next room.

"Come on, my medical droid can patch that up easily." he yelled from the other room. Rey stood up and joined him as a small hovering droid flew over to her wound, immediately starting to numb and treat it.

"Doesn't look too bad. It's certainly not the worst cut he's treated." Ben said, turning his face to better show the scar from their duel on Starkiller Base.

Rey's heart sank as she looked at him, feeling regret for the long scar she'd given him down his face.

"Ben, I…" she began, unsure of how to tell him how sorry she was for inflicting such a wound.

"No, please don't." he quickly stopped her, seeing the regret in her eyes. "I know what you want to say, but you shouldn't feel any remorse. Kylo Ren was going to kill you if he didn't get you to join him." He paused for a moment, turning away from her. "He deserved this."

Rey looked to Ben's turned back as he momentarily contemplated his past.

"When the droid is done, you can clean yourself up if you like." Ben pointed to the shower hidden behind the dark curtains in the room. "I'm going to secure the chambers before anyone comes around asking questions." Rey looked to him and nodded in appreciation for his hospitality as he left the room.

"General," Ben spoke into the communicator, "I've delivered Snoke to the infirmary. The girl. She's still here on the ship." He proceeded to close the inner blast door to seal the quarters from anyone that may come around.

"I will deploy the garrison to hunt her down!" Hux asked.

"No!" Ben replied, "I've taken her to my chambers for questioning on the intruders. I'll tell you when we're done here."

"Right, I'm preoccupied enough with this bloody incursion. We had two of them about to be executed before you gave the order to depart the system. We've moved them to the central detention hall. Among them was FN-2-"

"General!" Ben interrupted, "I do have my own prisoner to question here. I suggest you find out what you can from yours and leave me to my work."

Ben shut off the communicator. With his living quarters secure from any outsiders, and he and Rey safe for the time being, he began to remove the remainder of his hot, sweaty clothes, down to just his trousers. Finally he felt the calming, cool air around him.

"Ben!" Rey called from the next room. He stood up quickly and raced over to her. The motion-sensitive door opened swiftly. Directly in front of him stood Rey, her bare back to the door, wearing only her own long grey pants, hair down and flowing over her shoulders. Ben froze in his footsteps.

"I can't seem to get any water flow here." She said, turning around to face him, her arms crossed over her breasts. Ben's eyes widened as he promptly averted them away.

"Yeah… that's… I'll…" Ben muttered nonsense as he finally broke his paralyzed stance, walking to the shower controller. With a few taps on some buttons, the water began to flow behind the curtain next to him.

"Right, the panel freezes sometimes." He indicated. "It shouldn't act up anymore."

"Wonderful. I've been looking forward to a cleaning after all of this." Rey said as Ben walked back toward the door, still trying not to peek at her.

"If anything else comes up, I'll be in the next room. The chamber door is sealed and the General's troops are distracted, so we have time to spare." Ben insured her, before finally walking out. The door began to close slowly behind him.

"Thanks again." Rey called back to him. He turned his head back around to acknowledge, but was again frozen where he stood. As he peered into the room for just a short second, he caught the briefest glimpse of Rey's completely bare backside while she dropped the rest of her clothes to the floor. He gazed on her young, fit body as she stepped behind the curtain while the door closed in front of his inadvertent voyeurist eyes.

Stunned at her beauty, Ben stood there for a moment, unsure of what to think now. He already admired Rey for her strength and ambition, as well as gratitude for the faith she had in him. Now he contemplated a deeper feeling he had for her that was previously hidden behind the darkness. He walked to his bedroom, thinking of the connection they had on the island. As he sat at the edge of his bed, he thought back to the intimacy of the moment before they were interrupted by his Uncle. He thought of the glow of the fire reflecting against her pure skin. The soft touch of her fingers. The warmth he felt in her peaceful presence.

A tender smile started across his face.

While he lay back on his bed, Ben spent some time pondering his new future. With the darkness now finally purged, he knew the possibilities would be endless. The First Order would collapse without its powerful leadership, leaving the Republic to emerge once again to maintain peace in the galaxy. He wondered not only of his own future, but of that of the young Jakku scavenger who had pulled him from the shadows, as well. She had no one to go home to. Perhaps he could continue her teachings of the nature of the Force.

 _She did stand with me just now against Snoke._ Ben thought. _I'd be nothing now without her._ He knew that he owed her all he could spare after she saved him from the darkness. As he laid back, enjoying the fantasy of their companionship moving forward, the door to his room swiped open. There stood Rey, wrapped in a loose black robe down to her knees.

"I don't mean to intrude." She said to him.

Ben couldn't help but stare again as she stood in the doorway, so refreshed. So beautiful with her damp hair flowing smoothly down. She was almost shivering in the relatively cold air of the room.

"I just don't care to be alone in this place." she continued.

Ben nodded. "Of course." he said, waving his hand to beckon her into his room.

She approached the bed, taking a seat at the edge as he sat up against the headboard to give her room. She let out a breath, admiring the soft bed and clean room around her. She laid back, her legs still dangling from the edge.

"You must have the most luxurious living space on the ship." She started to say, as Ben looked down to her at the foot of the bed.

"I'd never stayed in such a place growing up on Jakku." She leaned over, propping herself up on her arm, looking back to him. "And even though we're locked in here, I still feel more free than I did in the open lands of that desert." She smirked.

"I suppose anything would be better than old walkers in the hot desert." Ben said back to her. He paused for a moment, almost afraid to say what was truly on his mind. He finally continued, "And if I'm to be locked up here with anyone... I'm glad it's with you."

Rey turned to look down to the dark covers of the bed, hiding her face away from Ben's heartfelt gaze, which promptly disappeared at her reaction.

"I… I didn't mean…" Ben cut himself off, unsure of what to say now. "It's just, I was thinking of the peace I felt in your presence, while we connected on the island."

"Ben," Rey looked up to him again, blushing, with a more intimate smile now on her face. "I know."

Ben didn't know what to say, but she went on.

"While I was there in the next room, I thought about my future." She now looked right into his eyes. "You're the first person to truly bring me out of my shell in my whole life. I couldn't think of a future without you at my side."

Ben sat for a second, stunned at her words of compassion, spoken with her soft, angelic voice.

"I don't know what say." Ben began, looking back into her eyes, "I've never felt these feelings before."

"Me either." Rey said softly. "But I'm glad I feel them with you." Her smile growing.

Ben tried to hide his fond smile, looking to the viewport that lit the otherwise dark room with the intense blue glow of hyperspace. Rey moved herself to his side, resting her head on his shoulder. He inhaled a fast breath, almost scared of what might be implied in her move.

"As long as you don't mind." Rey said, looking up to him. "It's a little cool in here, I would like the body heat." Ben nodded in approval. He placed his arm around her, drawing her a little closer.

"We should get some rest." he said quietly. "It's been a long day."

Rey slid her head over from his shoulder to his warm chest, curling herself onto his lap, his arm supporting her. Her hair draped down over his bare skin. As she began to drift off to sleep, he brought his other hand to rest on her thigh. He laid his head atop hers, closed his eyes, and finally rested peacefully. Something he'd not been able to do in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

_Kylo laid on the ground, his face a bloody, burned mess. He felt the ground crumbling beneath him as he looked up to the scavenger who'd just bested him. He sensed even more raw power in her, something he'd not felt since his own rise to the dark side. As the land split between them, he looked on her with intrigue._

" _I can show you the ways of the Force!"_

 _She sat on the island when a familiar presence entered the hut. She looked up to see him sitting before her._

" _Why is the Force connecting us?"_

 _They looked into each other's eyes. He reached his hand to hers._

" _You're not alone."_

 _He looked on her, naked body. The remarkably alluring, healthy, young girl of just two decades gracefully walked under the stream of hot water._

" _Neither are you."_

 _She stood almost frozen in the doorway, eyeing Ben's bare chest. His beautifully crafted body lay on the dark bed. She tried to deny herself the pleasure of the sight, but couldn't resist as his hand beckoned her to join him. They opened their feelings to each other before she found herself clinging to his side for warmth. He felt her hair glide across his chest. She felt his hand land lightly on her thigh. They could feel their connection to each other grow around them, like a strong force pushing them closer and closer. The force grew immense. They looked into each other's eyes once more._

Ben was quickly jostled from his slumber, his breath quick and short. He looked to his side where Rey sat in a cold sweat. She looked back up to him.

"Ben?" she asked softly.

"You felt it too?" he asked, unsure of exactly what _it_ was.

Rey didn't know what to say. The shared dream filled her mind with his thoughts, and his with her own. In those moments they felt as if they were a single entity. One mind between two bodies. She soon realized that the feelings they'd revealed to each other weren't the only ones they'd shared for each other. There was a deeper, more physical longing as well, but neither could see clearly until now.

"I felt you." She began to speak. "Your feelings. Your thoughts. I saw things…" she paused, briefly smirking, "through your eyes."

Ben turned his head away from her, his eyes wide and cheeks blushing in embarrassment. He realized now that the dream revealed him staring at her outside of the shower. His mind raced, not sure of how to explain his actions.

"I… It was an…" He could barely speak. She saw his ashamed expression and reached her hand to his chin to turn it back.

"And I know you saw through mine." she said quietly, with unintentional, but sincere lust in her voice.

He looked on her again, this time noticing more than the beauty at the surface. He understood that she saw him physically they same way he did her. Now he saw more than her pretty young face, but the alluring expression it had. He slowly turned his eyes lower, scanning her body in the robe, now looser over her chest than before. He spotted the binary curvature of her breasts, nearly fully exposed under the black fabric. He continued looking down to her legs, noticing then that her muscles were tense, just like his. He felt her lingering hand on his chin, before quickly shooting his eyes back up to meet hers. As they gazed deeply into each other's eyes, time seemed almost frozen between them. Ben's hand slowly reached forward before finally landing softly on her cheek. Her skin felt as if froze around the light touch of his fingers. She felt the subtle movement of his face as it began to move toward her at a seemingly dragging pace. Her hand slid from his chin around to the back of his neck. Ben's eyes closed slowly as he approached. Even then, he could still see her in his mind, just as clearly.

Within a fleeting second, he felt his lips meet hers. The feeling of her tender skin pressed so lightly against his was so much more tantalizing than he ever expected. At that instant he felt something inside he'd never felt before. He had no idea what it was that he was feeling, but he adored it immensely. He quickly forgot about the galaxy around him. Every thought, aside from those of her, left his mind. Nothing else mattered right now. No First Order. No Resistance. Nothing but the girl. For what felt like an eternity, they were connected at the lips. Soon, though, he slowly receded, trying not to linger too long even though he felt like he could stay there forever. He let in a breath and opened his eyes. He saw her again, sitting just in front of him. She opened her eyes, just after his. Neither of them moved now. All they could do now was stare at each other. For both of them, this was the first time they'd experienced such affection.

Rey didn't know what would happen next. Her strongly intimate moment with Ben filled her with a rush she'd never experienced before. Her mind raced. Never had anyone ever seen her the way he did now. The feeling of his lips on hers made her happier than she thought anything in the galaxy ever would. The companionship she'd longed for her whole life had finally manifested as the man she looked at, just a couple of inches away. Such a short time ago on Jakku, she didn't expect for someone to find her and care for her the way Ben did. She knew that this kiss was just the first taste of their time together and she didn't want any of these feelings to flee. She began to move her face toward his, again locking her lips to his. Blood rushed about her body. She had no idea that his touch could feel even better a second time, but it did. She moved her arm around his back. He followed suit, wrapping his strong limb around her, grabbing her opposite shoulder from behind as the intensity of their kiss grew. She let herself become lost in Ben's grasp, her body naturally swinging over his, landing in his lap, her chest now against his.

Ben was unfamiliar with the subtle nuances of this kind of romance. He didn't know exactly what to do, given his lack of any experience. He was usually so obsessed with detail. He wondered where his hands were supposed to go? What type of pressure does he put on her lips? Where does this lead next? These questions were tossed aside within a short time as he realized that his anxiety was misplaced. As they continued, he felt a sort of natural flow to their movements. He began to stop worrying, letting his body think and move for him. With the pressure off of his back, he simply savored the moment with her. He could sense that she had already accepted this, as well. The only thing he wondered now was what came next. He retracted his lips again, letting her up for a breath. He looked at her face as her mouth curved into an innocent smile. Without thought, he did the same.

"Ben Solo." she said, almost diviantly. "You seem a little experienced at that than I would have guessed." He found himself somewhat proud that he was apparently so pleasing in his classical romance, but wanted her to be sure she was his first.

"Honestly, you're the first girl I ever…" he paused, unsure of what word to use.

"You could have fooled me. I never would have thought my first could come from someone so…" she paused, also unsure of what to say. She looked down to his body again. "There's nothing like you where I'm from. Mostly lowlifes and scum." She returned to his eyes. "Nothing quite so beautiful in a graveyard of sand and garbage."

"I disagree." He smiled and raised his brow. "Right now I'm looking at the most beautiful thing that planet had to offer." Rey blushed at the kind words.

"So what happens now?" She asks him.

"I don't know." Ben answered honestly. "And as long as it's with you, I don't care."

"While right now I could sit here and kiss you forever, I think we still need to consider how we're going to get off this dreadful ship." Ben closed his eyes, a little disappointed as reality came back to his mind. He hadn't thought about their escape at all.

"You're right." He begrudgingly agreed. "Where can we go? The First Order is moving in on systems across the Galaxy. Once I leave, they'd be after me."

"Surely the Resistance has some sort of sanctuary nearby." Rey was quick to mention.

"I doubt the Resistance is too fond of me, either."

"Ben, they don't have any quarrel with you. It was Kylo." She said, prompting Ben's head to drop after hearing that evil name. "Your Mother would explain it all to them. In fact, she has a beacon! After we jumped, surely they escaped to somewhere away from the First Order's watch!" She said excitedly.

"No." Ben shot his head up again. "I can't face her." he shook his head.

"Ben, you know she would-"

"I can't!" He raised his voice. She looked as tears began to gather in his eyes. "Not now." he said softer, regaining control of himself. "Maybe some day, but not now. She knows _he's_ gone…" Rey understood he was referring to the dark Knight of Ren. "I felt her before we jumped. She saw me, I know she did." Ben placed his hand on her shoulder "But I can't bring myself to her yet. All I want right now is to be somewhere with…", he looked to her eyes again. "With you, Rey." he finished tenderly.

Rey stopped for a moment. She realized this was the first time she'd heard her name spoken in his voice. She accepted his words. She empathized with him. Her past was something she didn't wish to ever return to and she knew she couldn't bring him to do the same thing she wanted to avoid.

"Ben," she grabbed his hand in hers, "I won't make you a slave to your past like I was. All I want is to discover what the future holds." She raises their coupled hands between them. "And I want to continue to discover it with you." Ben looked at their hands. He nodded, relieved that she shared his thoughts on moving forward instead of dwelling on the past.

"The imperial archives." He muttered, turning his attention back to Rey. "The old star charts could hold some potential. We could find a place no one would think to look."

"That's half a plan." She replied, climbing off of Ben's lap. "What about transport? Surely they'd track any of their own ships leaving."

"Not all of them." Ben's face lit up. "There's plenty of smuggler craft the First Order confiscated and keep on board. They keep them in a storage hangar. There wouldn't be much security."

"And what timeframe would we have to leave? As big as this ship is, it still won't take long for them to learn their supreme leader is missing." An inquisitive look came to Rey's face. "What did you tell them happened to him?"

"I told Hux he was recovering from an injury in the infirmary."

"What happens when Hux asks them of his condition?" She asked. Ben sat still. He hadn't planned that far ahead. He began to stand up from the bed.

"Well," he pulled a cloak from across the room to his hand, "hopefully we'll be out of here by then."

"That's not very reassuring." Rey halfway joked, standing to her feet.

"Grab your clothes." Ben said as he fit his own on over him. "We can retrieve a star map from the archive, then head down to the hangar." He turned around, looking down to the short girl beside him. "You're gonna have to play my captive again, in case we run into anyone like last time."

"I'm yours." Rey said, looking back to him as she walked back to the next room to gather her clothes.


	3. Chapter 3

' _Surely we're not walking the entirety of this sixty-kilometer monstrosity'_ Rey thought as she marched down the hallway alongside the tall figure clad in dark leather. They'd been on the move for twenty minutes. ' _Ten. Eleven.'_ She'd been counting the Stormtroopers they passed on the way, each of them taking an attentive stance at the wall as their Commander walked by. She looked down, making sure her simple long black shirt covered the Lightsaber on her belt, having left behind the long gray robes she'd arrived in. She eyed the restraints, now wrapped tightly around her to sell the illusion. She didn't mind, of course. Being in Ben's hands was now something she was fond of. She knew that even though he was escorting her as his prisoner in this ship,he was hers, as well. She looked up to Ben, his face forward, focused on getting to the archival room as quickly as possible. They continued on, entering another lift, surrounded by high class officers. She kept her head down, acting intimidated by her captor. The Officers were silent, aside from acknowledging their leadership's presence as they boarded. Time crawled before the doors finally opened to their intended floor. As she began to step, she felt Ben's hand on her back, shoving her forward.

"Move." He ordered, looking down on her as she stumbled forward. "Scavenger scum."

"Wretched snake!" She retorted, looking back at him as she caught her footing.

As the lift doors sealed behind them, they smiled gracefully to one another for a short time, glad they acted so well together to fool the lift occupants. They both regained their composure and carried forward, approaching a large door. Ben reached toward the panel to access the door control, the words _Archive Hall_ printed across it in areubesh. ' _Finally.'_ Rey thought. The doors opened to a large, spacious room, lit only by the green glow of the holo-terminals that lined the walls. It was eeriely empty of any other beings, aside from some dull droids that played the role of librarian. As they walked deeper, she pondered all of the information that might be stored there. Historical records, fictions, art, motion-hologram entertainment, and of course, maps. It was all in this room.

"Here." Ben pulled Rey to the side, accessing one of the terminals. A small electronic cylinder slid out into his hand. He pressed a button, revealing a small hologram of a massive star chart. "A galactic chart from the records of the Empire." he indicated before shutting the device off and stuffing it in his pocket. The two turned around and left the room, returning to their "prisoner transfer" routine. After what seemed like another half-kilometer, they entered another lift. They stood together, this time not sharing the ride with any others.

"Ren!" Hux's voice muffled voice filled the room. Ben frantically pulled his communicator from his belt.

"What?!" He loudly asked back into the device. "Excuse me. What is it, General?" he continued, calmer, minding his startled tone.

"What is your location?" the General asked with an annoyed voice. "I need to speak with you personally about a matter in the detention center."

"I told you I'm with Re-" Ben looked down to her, her eyes wide, hoping he wouldn't blow their cover in his panic. "...with the scavenger." She closed her eyes and let out a relieved breath.

"I'm outside of your quarters now. Open the door." Hux demanded. Ben raised his hand to his forehead, trying to think of an answer.

"You took me to the interrogation room." Rey said under her breath. Ben looked at her, confused. "You took me to the interrogation room to keep me better restrained."

"I took her to the interrogation room to keep her better restrained." Ben said with an overly confident tone.

"That's across the bloody ship!" Hux spoke back, even more annoyed. "I really must speak with you in person. Our precious Captain Phasma has done something… _vile._ " Ben's face turned confused once more.

"What did she…" Ben started to ask, genuinely curious, before stopping himself. "No. You wanted to tell me in person. I'll be done here by the time you arrive."

"Very well. I'll inform you of the details when I reach you. I've just never seen her act this way toward a prisoner." The General's seemingly disgusted voice paused for a second. "Hux out." The communicator finally fell silent. Ben returned it to his pocket, loudly sighing in relief that the conversation was over.

"What was all that about?" Rey asked, now the curious one.

"I… have no idea." Ben said back slowly. A green light activated above them, indicating they'd reached the requested level. "And honestly, I don't care. We're here." The lift doors opened and a massive hangar revealed itself. As far as they eye could see were transports of every kind. Civilian vessels, smuggler ships, luxury craft. Rey hadn't even seen this many ships in a single place in the ship graveyards on Jakku.

"So, which one's ours?" She asked, looking up to Ben.

"New arrivals are down this way." He grabbed her shoulder and started walking speedily through the hangar. "They're still fueled before processing." They weaved between the tightly packed ships, nearly tripping up a couple of times in the unnatural maze. They arrived at the sector containing craft that hadn't yet had their hyperdrive fuel syphoned and seized for use in the First Order's own vehicles. Ben stopped and began to scan the area with his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Rey asked, wondering why he delayed their escape.

"Trying to pick a good one." He responded casually. He kept looking back and forth, silently judging each potential escape vessel. His eyes stopped on a couple, he shook his head on each. Rey stood still, staring right at Ben, slightly annoyed, but more desperate for him to get on with their plans. After so long he finally raised his finger to a mid-sized Correllian freighter. It's clean white hull and blue accents stood out among the rest of the dirty, modified, and otherwise rundown ships surrounding it. "What about this one?"

"Yes, yes! Of course! It doesn't matter!" She sputtered at him. "As long as it runs, I can fly us out of here!"

They stepped toward the ship, it's cockpit at the head of it with the entry ramp just underneath. Rey looked down the side of the ship as Ben brought the ramp down. About forty meters down were the large hyperdrive engines. ' _A bit bigger than the Falcon, then…'_ she thought to herself. When the ramp finally touched the hangar floor, Ben began to board, having to duck his head to avoid hitting the metal underbelly of the freighter. He stopped midway up and looked back to Rey.

"Did you just say ' _Fly us out of here'_?" He asked as his face lit up. "Are you a pilot, too!?" He smiled, expecting a quick answer. She rolled her eyes and began up the ramp.

"Get up there." She said, pushing her restrained hands into Ben, guiding him up into the ship. They finally boarded and Rey began toward the cockpit.

"Wait!" He called to her. She turned around, now visibly frustrated.

"Ben," She started to say sternly, marching toward him to reprimand his less than serious behaviour in their desperate moment. "I swear to-" She stopped herself, feeling her wrists become free while Ben loosened the restraints, looking down at her with a smirk. He removed them and tossed them to the hangar floor before retracting the ramp, keeping his amused expression the entire time. She had to hold back the urge to smile back. "Thank you." she said, her smile finally cracking.

"Any time." He said with a sarcastic tone. Rey turned back again to take a seat in the cockpit. Ben followed her, sitting in the co-pilot's chair. She began to prime the engines, letting them warm up as they began to figure out their destination.

"Let's see the map." She said, pointing to his pocket. He pulled out the tiny device and activated it once more, revealing the small holographic projection of the Galaxy.

"The First Order has begun moving in on most of the major systems." Ben explained "They'll be awaiting orders from the Supreme Leader on what to do once they're in position. They can't hold anything for long without anyone commanding them. Still, it's obviously a good idea to avoid them for now."

"Perhaps there are some lesser known systems they haven't gotten to yet." Rey suggested.

"The Outer Rim is our best bet." He hovered his finger over a dark sector of the map, zooming in on a potential star. "They won't be moving around here."

" _The Plazerband System"_ Rey read the text overlay. " _One habitable moon. Sixth body from the star."_

" _Forested surface, but most covered in water. Occupied by some tribal natives."_ Ben continued.

"Looks like we have a winner." Rey said, an excited smile on her face. Ben nodded and shut down the holo emitter, then plugging the device into the ship's navigation console. She began to lift the ship from the hangar, emerging above the others until she saw the massive shielded door ahead, open space just beyond it.

"Commander!" Hux's voice cut in, once again interrupting the pair's escape. Ben pulled out the communicator to respond.

"I'm very busy, General."

"Phasma has…"

"You said you'd tell me when you got here. I have no time for this!"

"She's gone, Ren! She left the ship in a shuttle with two prisoners after slaughtering the guards in the detention center!"

Rey and Ben quickly looked at each other, surprised at the jarring news.

"How did this… what?" Ben said, not sure of how to respond to such an odd happening.

The freighter slowly carried forward. They looked to the space ahead, finally on the final leg of their escape.

"I have no explanation, Commander, but her stolen shuttle is about to…" Hux said desperately.

A bright light flashed in front of them as the freighter finally passed outside of The Supremacy.

"...jump to hyperspace." Hux growled.

Ben looked over to Rey, her hand on the hyperdrive controls.

"We're ready." She said quietly, as not to let the General overhear. Ben smiled again and leaned back in his chair.

"You know what, Armitage. Don't sweat it." Ben said into the communicator. "I think things will work themselves out." There was a brief silence.

"...what?" Hux asked, confused at the answer. "Ren, has the girl cut into your mind again?"

"Actually," Ben looked at her. "she has."

Ben crushed the communicator in his hand as the cockpit lights dimmed, instead becoming illuminated by the bright blue and white colours of hyperspace. They had finally escaped the grip of First Order.


	4. Chapter 4

Ben stood naked as the freezing water hit his skin. The temperature didn't bother him as much as the weak water pressure or the squeal of the ship's old pipes that ran to the small shower. He thought about the previous owner's stature, since it was clearly less than his own, given the height of the faucet head that barely reached up to his shoulders. He could easily see over the door at his height. He noticed a mirror that was fixed to the wall over the vanity across the room. Illuminated by a small white light above him, he the saw his reflected face, dirty and oily from the past few days of action. He saw the dark bags under his eyes, formed from the emotional ride since the duel on Starkiller Base. He ran his finger down the scar. These were all things that reminded him of Kylo Ren.

" _You don't exist anymore."_ He thought, closing his eyes, not wishing to stare at the tyrant he saw in the mirror. He ducked his head down under under the, letting his face voluminous hair soak and quickly grabbed an old rag hanging on one of the pipes. The tender skin of his scar stung as he rigorously scrubbed away the old dirt and grime. He stood through the pain, hoping that in some small way he'd wash away the reminders of Ren, but knew that he would have to bare the scar for a lifetime. He thought about Rey and how she'd done this with the swift stroke of the lightsaber. In that moment, he realized that if she hadn't done so, then he may not be here with her now. He contemplated how things could have played out differently. He finally concluded that this scar wasn't just a reminder of his dark past.

" _A symbol of her saving my life. She did it to him. Not to me."_ He thought, finding himself smiling again and letting his anger and hate of Kylo subside to his happiness and admiration for Rey and all she had done for him.

"We're coming out of Hyperspace now." Rey's muffled voice called through the old intercom system as the ship shook for a moment while they dropped out of lightspeed. "I'll need you up here once we start our descent."

Ben shut the water off and grabbed the small, thin blue towel he'd hanged over the shower door, beginning to dry himself. He wrapped the it around himself, barely reaching it around his waist, and stepped out of the shower tube. He looked over to his old clothes that were strewn over the cheaply constructed vanity. He put on his undershorts and trousers, then held up and stared the heavy black overcoat he'd hastily tossed on back before their escape.

" _No…"_ He shook his head. The dark clothes were just another reminder. _His_ old threads wouldn't do for him. Ben's eyes darted around the small, poorly maintained room. The metal walls had begun to rust and dirt gathered in every corner. Next to the shower tube was an old, battered locker that may contain something the old owner wore. He began toward it, briefly wondering if there would be anything in there that would fit over him. Still, anything was better than the heavy dark clothes he'd arrived in. He approached, opening the twin doors, revealing just what he was looking for, albeit not in the quantity he would have wanted to choose from. He scanned the few articles of clothing in front of him. He reached ahead to grab the one piece that was hanging between a heavy brown cold-weather jacket and an old, torn red bathrobe. Ben pulled out and examined simple gray long-sleeved light shirt.

" _Of course."_ Just as he'd predicted, it was a couple of sizes smaller than his usual fit. so he pulled it over his head. The shirt clung tight to his chest, barely reaching to his waist and leaving a few centimeters of his wrists bare.

" _It'll have to do."_ He thought, walking back to the mirror. He slid his fingers through his damp hair, slicking it back over his head and behind his ears, trying to get it as smooth as he could without any of his usual cosmetic supplies. He brought his face close to the mirror to inspect his work and noticed patches hair beginning to grow on his chin and upper lip. Ben opened a drawer, hoping to find a small blade to smooth his skin back down, but found nothing aside from an old wrench and a holo-cylinder. He grabbed the tiny device to see what may be stored on it.

" _Hopefully something to help fix up this blasted old ship."_ He thought before he activated it. Instead, he saw only a dated magazine cover featuring a scantily-clad Zeltron woman. For a moment his eyes widened as he stared at the curvy, blue-haired alien. He'd not seen such a publication since he was a young boy sneaking around his parents' personal belongings while they were away.

"Ben," He heard Rey's voice behind him, prompting him to let out a surprised gasp and drop the device to the floor. He quickly spun around to explain himself, but found no one else in the room. "I need you here now." Her voice continued. He sighed in relief as he realized that she was still speaking through the intercom.

"On my way!" He shouted back before starting to walk toward the door, but stopping almost immediately. He looked to the floor and knelt down to retrieve the holo-magazine. He wanted to peer further into the publication, but his curiosity would have to wait.

" _Later..."_ Ben thought to himself as he put it far in the back of the drawer before finally leaving the room. He marched toward the cockpit, passing under the cables and electronic panels precariously fastened to the ceiling. At the sides of the corridor were bulk storage compartments, barren of anything but dust and old rubbish. The floor had dirt down the middle of it, gathered from years of foot traffic. As he stood in front of the door to the cockpit, it slid open slowly, jamming halfway. He tried to shove it the rest of the way, but it would not budge. Instead, he simply shoved himself through the small opening, stumbling in the process. He grabbed the copilot's seat to catch his footing.

"Door's broken." Rey said casually, not looking away from the sight ahead of her.

"You don't s-" Ben started to reply, stopping as he looked ahead to the beautiful moon in front of them. He took his seat and stared at the mostly forested surface, which shined a vibrant mix of red and orange, broken only by some large blue lakes.

"Magnificent." He said quietly to himself.

Rey heard his comment and smiled at his awe of the beauty. It reminded her of her own shock when she first witnessed the vast green forests of Takodana just a few days before.

"It is beautiful, Ben." She replied. "I've scanned the surface. We're coming up on a landing area." She pointed to a small natural clearing at the edge of the lake they soared high above. "Activate the shields and keep an eye on the power cells." He complied, flipping a blue switch at the co-pilot's console as she began to angle the ship's trajectory toward their destination. "I don't know how easily this blasted hunk of metal will hold up through this landing."

"It looked good from the outside." Ben replied as the air ahead of them began to glow with bright fiery colours while they penetrated the atmosphere. The cabin shook vigorously, growing more violent as they continued. Rey held the control stick as steady as she could, focusing on the land that grew closer and closer.

"No! We're too steep!" she shouted. In front of her she saw as sparks began to flood out of the stability control panel.

"Ben!"

"Switching to secondaries!" He said frantically, quickly leaning over in front of her and flipping some switches before the sparks finally stopped. "You _did_ say you're a pilot, right?" she heard him ask as he pulled himself back to his seat to maintain the shields.

"My whole life." She assured him as the fires ahead of them gave way to a clear view of the rapidly approaching surface.

"Just never landed from space before."

His eyes darted back to her again. The ship continued to shudder as red emergency lights began to flash around the control panels. She began to panic, unsure if she would be able to land what was left of the old freighter. Her breath grew quick as adrenaline filled her. The shrieking of the alarms and sounds of the ship's hull creaking filled the cockpit.

"We're… we're still too…" she tried to warn Ben of her failure to level out their descent, unable to get her words out.

"Rey!" Ben's voice pierced through the surrounding calamity. She turned her frightened gaze to him, his face unafraid. "We can do this." he said calmly.

"I can't… We're still-"

"We can do this" he repeated, slowly extending his arm and reaching his hand toward the front of the ship. "Just keep us straight."

She didn't understand. Looking ahead to the ground only a few hundred meters away, she was sure that keeping them straight at their speed and angle would lead to their demise. Suddenly, she felt the violent shaking begin to soothe. The front of the ship started to slowly raise itself without her hands moving the control.

"What's happ-" She started to ask before noticing Ben's arm ahead of him, his eyes closed as he concentrated.

' _The Force…'_ Rey thought as their trajectory finally balanced itself.

' _The Force…'_ She closed her eyes.

' _The…'_ She let in a deep breath, pacifying her fear.

She heard Ben groan as he tried to maintain his strength and composure.

"Just hold us for a few more seconds." She said to him as she deployed the landers. "We can do this." She assured him.

"One hundred meters." She called on their final approach.

"Seventy meters."

"Fifty!"

"We're almost-" She was cut off as they hit the surface, jerking them out of their seats and onto the floor. The freighter skidded through the dirt as the landers gave way. They finally slowed from the friction and came to a halt. Rey lied on the floor for a moment, disoriented from the landing. She began to lift herself up to her hands and knees, seeing smoke begin to fill the cockpit. A bright red and orange glow began to shine over her.

' _Fire!'_ She thought, quickly looking to find Ben unconscious against the wall.

"Ben!" She yelled, bringing herself to his side. "Ben, get up! We need to get out of here!" She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked to his face in fear for his life. At her touch, though, he let in a heavy breath as his eyes sprung open. He looked back to her relieved eyes.

"Rey."

"Come on, we need to get the fire under control." She sputtered as she shot up to her feet, but quickly collapsing back to the floor with a scream of agony. Ben reoriented himself, catching her as she fell.

"What?! Where do you…" He asked frantically.

"My ankle!" she shouted. He looked down to see her foot bent slightly out of place. For a second he thought about reaching to adjust it, but stopped himself before even attempting. With her already in his arms, he gripped her tightly, bringing him to his own two feet.

"I'll get you out of here. Where's the fire?"

"Here in the cockpit." She replied swiftly. "We need to…" She stopped as they both looked around the cockpit, seeing only a light layer of smoke, but no fire. Rey quickly realized the true nature of the glowing orange lights.

"The trees." She spoke softly as the light reflecting off of the bright orange and red trees continued to fill the area around them. Ben looked down to her, cradled in his arms. He began toward the door, which miraculously found it's way completely open during the crash landing. With the entry ramp blocked below them, they proceeded to one of the empty cargo holds. Ben kicked down one of the weakened wall panels inside, revealing the moon's surface directly to them. He stepped slowly to the ground, making sure not to jostle the injured woman in his arms. He stood outside of the wrecked ship while they looked to the nature around them. The grass below them matched the beautiful foliage above. He turned his head, then the rest of his body to show Rey the lake they'd landed just meters away from.

"Ben," He heard her voice. "We did it."


End file.
